Last Chance (Untold But Unforgotten Book 3)
by TheHomemadeDarkmark
Summary: Taz and Up embark on their most dangerous mission yet. With the help of their friends, they return to Earth for a final battle against the robots. With the entire universe in danger, the Rangers are frantic to find a way to save it. Will the pair make it through yet again, or will this be the pair's final stand?
1. Chapter 1

(AN: I want it known that if you look in google images and look up "taz and up," the cover for TOAR is the fifth picture down. Just saying. ;))

Taz drummed her fingers impatiently on her knee. The ride back to Earth seemed to be taking forever. She knew it was because of her worry, but that did not make it any better. Up put his hand over hers, stopping her fidgety fingers.

Looking into his clear blue eyes, Taz instantly calmed down. He had that effect on her. She sighed, causing him to give her a slight smile.

"Relax," he told her. "We'll be there soon."

Taz thought back to a few hours earlier. They had just defeated evil alien bugs, and a conspiracy from within the Galactic League itself. Tootsie married Megagirl, Krayonder got together with Specs, February finally got her happy ending with Bug (despite the fact that he's an alien insect), and Taz finally reestablished her friendship with Up. Sadly, their pleasant celebration had been cruelly interrupted when Taz had recieved a call from Marie, her old roommate from the Academy. Marie had been reporting a robot attack that had infilitrated the Academy itself.

Taz thought about the moment when she had told the others. It had taken a few minutes to calm everyone down, and it was horrible having to deliever this news when they had all been having a good time. She could distinctly remember each of their reactions.

February had clasped her hands to her mouth, eyes watering. It was understandable, as Marie had been her best friend when she had shared a room with her, Taz, and Specs.

Bug had looked confused, and a little bit excited. Taz figured this was because it would be his first official mission as a Starship Ranger.

Specs had looked worried, and immediately turned to one of her many devices. Who knew what she was doing.

Krayonder had straighted his back, trying to look professional, but failing miserably. The private constantly tried, but he just wasn't one for maturity in any situation. Taz couldn't judge him, however, seeing as he had risked his life for them against a giant scorpion.

Megagirl also straightened up, managing much better than Krayonder. Taz could almost hear her wires buzzing, preparing for battle. Taz was still wary, especially since they were going into war against robots, and Megagirl was, well, a robot.

Tootsie... Well Tootsie just kind of sat there stupidly. Taz wondered if he even comprehended what she had said, but she decided to ignore it.

Now they were racing back to Earth, preparing to face the enemies that they had believed to be defeated. Taz and Up had seemed to win the Robot Wars two years previously, but apparently a new batch had been built. Taz saw Up clench and unclench his right hand.

"Are jou alright, Up?" she asked, nodding towards his hand.

He looked down, seeming surprised to have been doing anything with that hand at all. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Guess I'm just nervous, is all. Haven't face the robots since my injury."

Taz winced. She remembered his injury all too well. The glint of metal that had shot out of Optimus Prime's chest. The way the two halves of his body flopped to the ground. Not to mention that it had been her fault. If only she hadn't screamed, due to flashbacks of her disastrous quinceanera. Now Up had to live with the entire right side of his body being a robot. She wondered if maybe that was what was bothering him, was the fact that he was fighting what he was. If so, she hoped that he realized that he was better than them, he was a person, not one of those evil metal creatures.

Of course, Megagirl had broken tradition, falling in love and marrying Tootsie. She was no ordinary robot, having allowed herself to gain a new emotion, so Taz didn't rank her among other robots anymore. She was a category all her own.

Taz squeezed Up's hand. Normally, a sign of weakness even that small was against everything Taz stood for, but the events of that day, and what was still to come, she figured that it was worth the risk of a mark on her reputation.

With her other hand, Taz reached into her pocket. She pulled out a picture, old and faded. It was of her and her brother, Tacito, back when she had been Gabriella, four years previously. Before her family and friends had all been brutally murdered, before her life had been ripped from her, before she had taken her brother's name and place among the Rangers. She looked down on the photograph, Tacito's smiling face next to her own. Her mother could be seen in the background, making dinner.

Taz shoved the photo back into her pocket. That was her life back when she had been an average teenage girl, worrying about school, looks, boys, and every other frivilous thing there was.

"Taz?" asked Up, looking concerned. She looked up at him, eyes glistening. His face softened. He squeezed her hand again. "It'll be alright," he whispered.

Taz nodded and looked away. She had never revealed the truth about who she really was to anyone, not even Up. If she died tonight, did she really want to go with him not knowing who she truly was?

"Listen, Up, I-" she began, but she was cut off by Specs popping her head in.

"Commander, Lieutenant, I just wanted to report that we will be arriving in approximately ten minutes. You might want to come up front and strap in," she said, pushig her glasses up her nose before leaving.

Taz turned to Up. "Jou ready?" she asked.

He smiled. "Of course. Let's go."


	2. Chapter 2

(Finally here! SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG! This series was my first truly successful fanfic and it keeps getting thrown to the side with all the others I have going. So sorry! Anyway, here it is! BTW, this will probably be a lot darker than my other stories, just because it will be about a big war against the robots, and it will be a lot more battle scenes than UBU. Also, there will probably be some deeper insight into Taz's mind, a lot of mental conflict, and plenty of Tup shipping! Just thought I'd warn you, this probably won't have very much fluff in it.)

Taz had seen a lot of horrific things in her life. Hell, she had seen her entire family and all of her friends' dead bodies with gaping holes in their heads where the robots had stolen their memories for intel, and also to create robot copies of them. She had been in battle time and time again, seeing Rangers slaughtered left and right.

None of that compared to the sight that met her eyes stepping off of the ship.

The entire Academy was in chaos. Smoke was rising from many areas, indicating fires. Tortured screams and cries filled the air. A quick glance around showed Rangers being murdered violently in ways that made even Taz want to throw up. February actually did.

Taz glanced up again, seeing three robots advancing towards them. She pulled out her Zapper, shooting them in the head. Three smooth shots that should have destroyed them. But it didn't. It didn't even scratch the paint. Taz's eyes widened, her heart pounded. She looked at Up, who looked just as worried and confused.

"Taz!" She looked around to see a figure by a doorway in the Academy, motioning them over.

"Come on!" she shouted, running for the entrance, hearing her team in hot pursuit. They reached the doorway and ran in. The figure slammed it shut behind them, before facing them.

The figure was clearly female. Her uniform was dirty and tattered. Her hair had been pulled back in a ponytail, though it was so messy by now that it was half out, and a knotted mess. Her face was streaked with blood and dirt. The only thing about her that wasn't filthy and matted was her eyes. Her clear, blue eyes, that, despite her horrid state, were as bright and lively as Taz remembered.

"Marie?" Taz asked cautiously.

Her old roommate smiled. "Hey, Taz. It's been a while."

Marie explained what had happened. Apparently, after they'd left, things had started going downhill. Robots began appearing out of nowhere. The Academy had been overtaken in minutes. The few who had escaped had all holed up in this room, which was apparently an emergency bunker. It couldn't be opened from the outside in any way. It was stocked up on food, water, and all other neccessities.

Marie showed them the areas that had been set up as their makeshift hospital, where dozens of injured Rangers lay. There were so many that they had run out of cots and some were stuck on mattresses on the floor.

"Pretty much everyone gave up the luxury of a mattress so that we could use them for the injured," Marie informed them. "We have ten times as many wounded as we do up for fighting. And, on top of that, some have to stay behind to look after them. We mostly put the new students up for that, the ones who don't have enough training to fight yet."

They were also shown the areas for meetings, eating, and sleeping. Finally, she sighed, turning back to them. "This is where we're stuck, until we can find a way to kill them," she said, jerking her chin to the door to indicate the robots. "Hopefully that's-" She cut off, looking over Taz's shoulder with wide eyes. Taz spun around to see Megagirl standing there. Damn. She hadn't warned Marie.

She turned back to see her old roommate with a Zapper in her hand, aimed straight at Megagirl. "One wrong move and you die, bitch," she said through clenched teeth. Taz winced. The Marie she remembered was sweet. She had trained to be a science officer, and she had always been a pacifist. Taz had never even heard her properly swear. How had a few days changed all that?

"Marie," February said as Tootsie frowned at the Zapper. "I know it's, like, really weird, but MegaGirl's on our side. And so is Bug." She gestured to her alien-insect boyfriend.

Marie's eyes narrowed. "How can you trust a robot, Feb? How can any of you?"

"We don't exactly trust her," Taz explained. "But we need to accept her." She quickly explained what had happened between Megagirl and Tootsie. Marie didn't seem completely convinced, but she lowered her gun.

"And the bug?" she asked suspicously.

February grinned like a little kid. "Oh, this is Bug, he's my boyfriend," she said, which caused Marie's eyebrows to shoot up. February went into what Taz was sure would be a very long, excruciatingly detailed explanation of how she had gotten together with Bug. Taz turned to Up.

"You wanna go relax for a while? It's been a long night," he said. Taz was about to refuse, but then she looked at his eyes. They were exhausted, dull, and had bags hanging beneath them. She was sure she looked no better. She nodded.

"I think that's a good idea. Jou wanna watch a movie?" she asked. A grin split across his face.

"Of course."


End file.
